Take Bass Lessons At On Chord Academy Today!

Bass lessons in Layton are enrolling now.

What to expect at your first bass lesson

On your first day you will meet your bass teacher and talk about why you want to learn bass, and what kind of bass playing you want to do. This way you and your bass teacher will be working toward a common goal. You will also learn 3 exercises–a scale, a groove and a bass line–to begin developing your fingers, your rhythm and your performance.

The hardest musicians to find, no matter where you are, is a good bass player. That’s why taking bass lessons gives you a competitive advantage. Bassists who are versatile, experienced and passionate always have a band to join and a gig to play.

Bass lessons in Layton, UT will help you become the kind of bass player that bands want.

Bass lessons are available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Take bass lessons to learn the 3 P’s of bass playing

Pitch

Playing bass with pitch simple means playing the “right” notes. Pitch encompasses the theoretical aspects of music–scales, chords, progressions, etc. You need to know enough music theory that you aren’t constantly thinking about “what note comes next.” Taking bass lessons help you internalize, so you can focus on the groove.

Pocket

When musicians are all feeling the beat and playing in time and together, they are said to be “in the pocket.” For bass players, playing “in the pocket” is more than just playing bass in tempo in the correct meter. It’s about making that tempo groove. Bass lessons will help you play just enough behind the beat to feel effortless, without sounding late.

Performance

Being able to bring something to a song, to add to it without overpowering the arrangement, is a hallmark of the versatile bassist. Bass lines can get repetitive unless you add things to the performance. From the first day, bass students at On Chord Academy learn to add variation to their bass lines in order to keep them fresh and fun.

What They Learn

Time

Bass players who keep time make everything easier for their band. The anchor the chord progression in time. It is essential that bass students play with metronomes or drum tracks when they practice, and during lessons. They learn how to hone in on and internalize the beat in order to play in time.

Groove

Groove is separate from Time. Groove is the ability to play comfortably in time. On Chord Academy bass students revisit previous exercises they have mastered for technique, and play them over different drum patterns to learn how to adjust the performance to make it groove.

Taste

Bass players fill a particular role in any arrangement. Within that role there is a lot of room for creativity. Sometimes you can add a lot to a song by filling in holes. Other times the best thing you can do is keep it simple. We believe taste can be taught, and work with out students to develop it.

Technique

Bass technique encompasses everything that goes into just playing the bass. These are the typical things people think of when imagining bass lessons. Bass students will get experience with a number of different techniques, including: Slap, pop, picking, palm-muting, fretting, tapping, etc.

Bass Lines

Learning bass lines is important, but not for the obvious reason. The number of times you will pull out ‘that awesome bass line you learned’ in a group setting is next to nothing. A bass line teaches you the regional dialect of a genre, and helping you begin to speak for yourself.

Theory

Good bass players know theory. Even if they never “learned” theory, even if they just play by ear, they know theory. Learning music theory makes playing bass, and music in general, easier. Learn songs faster, take the guesswork out of writing parts and make playing more enjoyable.

Meet Our Bass Teacher – John Chatelain

John is one of the cofounders of On Chord Academy. He started playing bass at age 9 and got his first tastes of performance in school orchestras and jazz bands. Throughout high school he gigged constantly with the Woody James jazz combo and performed across the country with the Granite Youth Symphony. John studied Jazz Performance at the University of Northern Colorado under the direction of Grammy-nominated Gene Aitken.

John toured Europe with the bluegrass group Albion, playing folk festivals in Germany, France, Holland, Poland Romania and Hungary. John toured throughout the west with alt-rock band The Gorgeous Hussies, and Celtic-punk tribute band, The Wailing O’Sheas. John brings energy and fun to bass lessons, teaching on Wednesdays and Saturdays at On Chord Academy in Layton, Utah.

Enrolling In Bass Lessons At On Chord Academy

Sign Up Today For The Beginning Bass Workshop

If you are new to the bass guitar and have never taken lessons, or have taken fewer than 6 months of lessons, we highly recommend that you attend our Beginning Bass Workshop.

The Beginning Bass Workshop is a 90 minute workshop designed for absolute beginners to develop a foundation in the concepts and vocabulary of music. Workshop students learn the basics of standard music notion, bass anatomy, bass tablature, as well as learning a blues progression.

The Beginning Workshops are a great way to to come experience On Chord Academy, meet one of our instructors, and get a feel for how bass lessons will be. Additionally students leave with a working understanding of the concepts they will need in their private lessons.

Workshops are held on Saturdays in the morning and afternoon. Space is always limited, so sign up for your spot today.

If you have taken bass lessons before, call today for a free trial lesson

If you already have experience taking bass lessons, or feel like you already know the basics&emdash;from learning another instrument, for example—then you should call to schedule a free trial lesson with us instead of the beginning workshop.

At your free trial lesson, the guitar instructor will ask you to demonstrate a working knowledge of:

Standard Music Notation

Basic Guitar Anatomy

Fundamentals Of Tablature

If you are ready to schedule a trial guitar lesson, call 1-844-ON-CHORD (844-662-4673).